Titans Forever
by The Roman Vulcan
Summary: For reasons unknown to them, four of the Teen Titans are abducted by a mysterious group who call themselves the Forever Knights. But when Robin goes to rescue his friends, he inadvertently comes across three teens who've fought the Knights before and won!
1. Prologue

A/N: I disclaim the _Ben 10_ and _Teen Titans_ universes; they belong to Cartoon Network and the latter to Warner Bros. and DC Comics. I hope you enjoy this crossover, and please read its prequels, _Titanic Sourpuss_ and _Jinxed!_

* * *

Prologue: The Meeting

The Forever King had gathered the Knights in his throne room when the messenger came.

"Sire, the one you wish to treat with is here. But there is one more who came to treat on his own accord."

"Let them both enter."

The messenger bowed and to the back to the door at the back of the room. All the Knights watched as the two figures, one of who was significantly shorter than the other, entered and walked towards the king.

"Why have you rescued me?" asked the taller one, who had silvery hair, red eyes, and a red jacket. "I was the one attacked you before this form was damaged!"

"Are you truly a Galvan in a human body?"

"I am," he said, his face turning sour. "Unfortunately."

"If you build the machine for us and help us destroy the dragons, you will get both your revenge and your original form. Do you accept?"

"I do." He looked somewhat happier when he said this.

"And what do you want, small one?"

This person was rather short and cloaked.

"I have information about four sources of power for the machine. If you capture them and use them, I wish you to hand them over to me once you are finished. Do you accept this, Forever King?"

Said person thought for a moment and then reached his decision.

"I accept your conditions. Now, where are these sources of which you speak?"

"I recommend that you undertake the project in your castle nearest to Jump City, as that is location within which the sources reside."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so the Knights have just stuck a deal with two mysterious guys. I'm pretty sure you can tell who the first one is if you've seen _Ben 10: Alien Force_. The other one? Well...I tell you later. Please feel free to review and speculate. Hope you enjoy this!


	2. Taken

A/N: Okay, so the setup's been made. Time to get to the action! Also, just a warning: possible _Ben 10: Alien Force_ spoilers inside.

* * *

Chapter 1: Taken

_So far, so good._

Robin, completely healed from his injuries, had just come to the living room; it had been his day for cleaning dishes, but he was done.

_Eight days ago, Jinx struck pretty hard, but we still kicked his tailed butt. And so far, life's gone back to normal. I think._

Cyborg was on the Gamestation, and Starfire was watching him.

"Oh, yeah! Boss time!"

"Let that blue robot of fighting kick the butt!"

"Hey, guys. What's happenin'?"

"I'm just 'bout t'kick Bang Man's butt!"

"He is playing a game known as _Milio Man 2_," Star told Robin.

The boss jumped down; he had a shade over his face and drills for hands. The music changed, and the fight commenced.

"Good luck, Cy!"

Robin then turned to Raven and Beast Boy, who were nearby.

"Your, uh, your precognition, does it sometimes happen in dreams?" Beast Boy asked her.

"More often than not. The thing is some things are symbols, some will happen, some are just your imagination."

"So y'think a little bit of your power is still in me?"

"I doubt it, and if there were, you wouldn't have that much power."

"Hey, Raven."

"Oh. Hey, Robin."

"Whad'a'ya talkin' about?"

"Just a weird dream I had," replied BB. "Something about you and a lot of Titan's getting' frozen, coming home from Paris to see Jump City had changed a lot, seein' someone who looked like Terra—"

"Okay, BB, I get the point. You're wondering if you could be having visions."

"Highly unlikely," Raven pointed out. "I don't think enough of my power's left in any of you to—"

"Booyah!"

The three of them jumped.

"I got that Bang Bomb!" the voice continued. "Now I can blast those blastable doors!"

"Great, Cyborg." Raven's voice, as always, was dry.

"I'll jist save it 'ere."

"Hey, Cy. Mind if I try it later?"

"Harder than it looks, B. I was strugglin' a little—JUST a little," he added, seeing said Titan's facial expression, "in the stage."

"Uh, heh heh," said the shapeshifter nervously. "Y-you're still pretty good at it."

"I know, B." Cy smiled. "Jist a natural part of bein' unnatural."

_Yep, definitely back to—_

The sight of one of the doors leading into the room interrupted Robin's thought. For some reason, it was turning red!

"What the—?!"

The others looked at it as well.

"It's turnin' red hot!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"Jinx, maybe?" suggested Raven, a little worried.

"Whoever it is, let's be ready! Titans, get ready!"

At that, Star and Cyborg went right behind Robin, and Beast Boy and Raven went behind the first two respectively.

The door melted away.

However, it wasn't Jinx the Wizardcat but, much to their suprise, several guys in armor! The one in front was holding a weird-looking gun pointed at where the door was.

"What the—?" said Robin. "Who are these guys?"

"Forever Knights," said the man with the gun, "do whatever you wish to the Titan in the front, but take the others unharmed!"

"Yo!" interjected Cyborg. "If you dudes wan' us, we ain't giving up without a fight!"

"And taking ME out is harder than it looks! Titans! GO!"

The Knights ran through the melted door to confront the five. The Titans ran forward to let the intruders know that they were not welcome!

* * *

"Okay, this is getting tiresome. Ev'rytime I take out one of them Knights, there's always another one waitin'!"

"Tell me about it."

They had been fighting for about ten minutes, and the Titans were winning so far. Unfortunately, there were many more Knights, and the Titans were starting to get tired. Even Beast Boy, who was in wolf form, was panting harder than he would be in a desert.

"Oh, yeah! Who's bad?" shouted Cy as he used his sonic blaster on another Knight. "That all y'got? C'mon!"

Unfortunately, one Knight was right behind him, strange device in his hand. Cyborg didn't notice him until it was too late.

The Knight had stuck his device onto Cyborg's back.

"YAAAAAA—! Uhhh…"

There was a loud thud when he landed.

"Cyborg!" cried Star when she saw him.

"One down, three to go," the Knights' leader said to himself.

Robin attacked Cyborg assailant with his extended bo staff.

"You're not gettin' away with that or him!"

Meanwhile, several Knights were going after Raven.

_Can't keep this up much longer._

She lifted them with her powers and threw them away.

_This is getting hard, even for me!_

Suddenly they started to fire their lasers at her! She dodged the first few, but then one hit her. She gave a short yell, and then fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Get away from 'er!"

Beast Boy quickly changed into a wolf, successfully attacked those who had just taken Raven down, and charged at some other Knights.

"Now!" one of them shouted.

Another Knight threw an unusual looking object above the green wolf. Bolts of electricity shot out of it and assumed the form of a cage around him. BB was a little confused at first, but he overcame this and he ran headfirst at the edge. One of the "bars" zapped him and threw him back. He changed back into himself, gave a moan, and flopped on the floor, stunned and dizzy.

"We're the only ones left, Star!" Robin called to her.

"Then let us end this battle! Now!"

The two remaining Titans went on an all-out attack. Starfire took out a lot on Knights with her starbolts while Robin remained with his bo and discs.

"We need the weapon from the Centauri Moons for the last one!" shouted their leader. "Where is it?"

"I have it, sir!" shouted one Knight, who promptly fired it.

A stream of green goo headed towards Star and wrapped around her. Another Knight took out a pair of black spheres, which he put over her hands. In this state, she was helpless.

"NO!" shouted Robin when he saw this.

He charged at the two who were closest to her.

"Get your filthy hands—AH!"

The latter Knight had struck him away.

"Robin!" Starfire called. "Run!"

"I'm not leaving you!" he replied, fending off another Knight with his bo.

"Run so that you may rescue us later! We shall be fine. Run!"

They paused for a moment.

"All right, Star. Take care."

He delivered the final blow and ran out the melted (but now cool) door.

"After him!" the leader ordered.

Three Knights immediately gave chase to the last Titan.

* * *

It had been a few minutes since the Knights had gone in. Star was getting nervous.

_O, Robin, please have gotten away! Please…please…_

The three Knights re-entered the living room.

"You do not have to worry about that pest anymore, sir," said one of them. "We were able to subdue him and finish him."

"Splendid!" said the leader

Upon hearing this, Star started to despair.

"NO!" she shouted, starting to cry. "No, you could not have—"

"We did. Do not get any funny ideas, as no one can rescue you now."

"Oh!" she moaned. "O, Robin, Robin, if ever I am free, you shall be avenged! Robin…"

She continued to bemoan her teammate, saying his name over and over again.

"You do not worry us," the leader said to her. "We shall never let you free."

"Sir?" asked another of the three Knights. "I would suggest that we be cautious and place a larger number of guards on duty. We will not need any interference, especially not from the three traitors."

"That shall be done. Now, Forever Knights, take the four and move out."

Those who were most fit obeyed the first command. However, the three knights who had gone after Robin straggled for a moment.

"That was not the only reason why I suggested that more guards be placed," whispered the second one. "We were not able to get rid of Robin, so there is a risk that he will attempt to breach the castle."

"We shall tell the guards for whom else they should watch out, or we shall be severely punished!" said the third, who hadn't spoken before.

"Let us make haste," the first reminded them. "Let us not keep the others waiting, or we shall be punished for disobeying commands."

"Yes, let us go."

They all ran out door to catch up.

* * *

Meanwhile, three teens were sitting in a green and black car, talking to each other.

"I'm tellin' you, Ben, if I know Grey Matters, I know he might not be held for long!"

"Kevin! Are you kidding? That jail is famous for having no successful escapes and almost no attempted ones, either! Besides, he's my size."

The one named Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, Kev," said the redheaded girl named Gwen, sitting in the front passenger seat. "Plumber jails are ultra-maximum security. It's a one-in-a-billion—"

Suddenly, a voice came from the two-way radio.

"Ben, Gwen, Kevin. This is Magister Ghilil. Please respond."

Kevin picked up the mike.

"This is Kevin Levin. What's goin' on, Magister?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I'm afraid that Albedo has been sprung from his Plumber jail."

All three pairs of eyes opened wide.

"I just got a tip-off saying the Forever Knights were the ones who have him now and that he is making Galvan Imitators for them."

"Galvan Imitators?" shouted Ben.

"At _least_ Level 4," Kevin informed him.

"You are hereby authorized to send Albedo into the Null Void if you can catch him. Do you accept?"

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm sending you the coordinates right now."

Kevin hung up the mike and put the key into the ignition as his phone went off. He took it out and looked at the display for a moment.

"Jump City," he muttered.

He then looked out the windshield.

"Hang on, you two! We're—"

"Wait, Kevin," Ben interjected. "We don't have much time. We can get there faster if we fly!"

"Ben!" Gwen told him. "Cars can't fly, you know that?"

"But I can."

"Oh! Duh!"

The three got out of the car, and Kevin locked it up.

"If anyone jacks it, they're really gonna pay." He looked at the others, who were rolling their eyes. "All right. Let's go!"

"One sec," said Ben, turning around.

There was a flash of green light.

* * *

A/N: All right, let the predictions begin. What are those Forever Knights up to now? And do you think you known what those machines will do? Whatever happens, it ought to be interesting. Feel free to let me know what you think, and I'll be working on the next chapter.

Bonus Question: Does anyone recognize the real game that Cyborg's was based on?

End of line.


	3. To the Castle

A/N: Hey, everyone. Sorry this took a long time, but it's a crucial part for the rest of the story. Be ready: paths will cross!

* * *

Chapter 2: To the Castle

Robin, who had gotten away from the Forever Knights who had pursued him, was quite upset. In fact, he was downright furious.

"Those Knights!" he grumbled to himself as he walked into mostly destroyed living room. "Wrecking our home and kidnapping my friends?! Wait till I get my hands on them. I can't believe I let'em win! I shoulda taken'em out when I could!"

Suddenly, a thought rushed over him.

_Wait; why am I yelling? Maybe I should calm down. That's at least Raven's way…and it might be the right way, too._

He took a few deep breaths and started to think over the situation.

_Hmm, I know that wasn't my style, but…come to think of it, Star was right! With those weapons, they would've overpowered me, no sweat. But now they're outta the Tower, I'll find them AND my fellow Titans. Don't worry, guys; I'll be coming._

He took out his T-Phone and found the four dots. They were out of the city, but not too far away, though.

_I'd better not be seen; they'll take me out if they do!_

He then ran to get his R-Cycle and helmet, putting on the latter and climbing on the former.

"Stealth Mode on."

A field surrounded him, making him virtually invisible. He revved the engine a few times and heard almost nothing. He then activated the cycle's GPS to double-check his destination.

_Cyborg was right; this new feature oughta come in handy. If there are any Knights outside or on the streets, they're less likely to know I'm coming. Heck, I'd be surprised if—oh, never mind. I'm on my way._

xXxXx

Thankfully for Robin, woods surrounded the castle to which he was going. This was most fortunate for two reasons: first, the Stealth Mode on the R-Cycle was out of power, and, second, there were a lot of Knights apparently guarding the castle.

_Better go in on foot,_ Robin thought as he removed his helmet. _Besides, Stealth Mode only hides sight and sounds, not smells. The R-Cycles exhaust does have a particular smell to it._

Making sure the R-Cycle was out of sight, he slowly approached the edge of the forest and peered out at the castle.

_Typical. One big castle, complete with moat and drawbridge._

He then looked at the Knights who were out in front of it.

_Pretty heavily guarded. They're probably expecting me…or someone else, at least. But no matter, I gotta get in._

One of the Knights made signals to several others, and they left the drawbridge to go on other sides of the castle. Others came to take their places.

_I'd better scout around for a weak spot. One could obliterate me, or worse, let the whole castle know!_

He started to sneak around the castle, looking for where the guards were fewest or non-existent. Unfortunately, he wasn't having much luck as there were so many guards out.

_I don't have much time. Who knows what's happening inside the castle? Maybe right now—whoa, Robin. Calm down._

He took a deep breath and started to plan again.

_Okay, maybe I can distract the guards, make them think I'm in one place but be in another. That could work—_

He suddenly felt something on his head; it didn't feel too friendly.

_Crud._

"We are not blind, Robin," said the Forever Knight who found him. "Or, at least, I am not."

At first, Robin had the urge to fight, but then he remembered how dangerous the Knights' guns had been. Thus, he decided to obey.

"Now, place your hands on your head."

Robin, again resisting the urge, slowly raised his hands to obey—

—suddenly, there was a swoosh and the sound of someone landing on the ground. He felt the Knight's gun move away from him.

_What was…?_

He heard an odd sound, similar to a sword being drawn, accompanied by a voice.

"Hey, metalhead! Why don'cha pick on someone with your armor on?"

A metallic clang and a grunt greeted Robin's ear. But he knew one thing: he had been saved! He turned around to look at the person who had punched out the Knight.

The guy who had saved him was tall and had long hair. The most notable thing about him was that this guy was covered with metal! It was the same color as the Knight's armor, Robin noted.

"Uh, thanks," he said awkwardly.

"No prob. Whad'a'ya doin' here, anyway? And who are you?"

Robin didn't get to answer because one Knight rudely interrupted him.

"Forever Knights, beware!" shouted said Knight, pointing. "The accursed Ben 10 has—"

Green rays originating in the air zapped him. The others around him returned fire.

_Whoever this "Ben 10" guy is, he's not gonna last long!_ thought Robin. _I'd better help!_

He drew and extended his bo and shouted, "Hoooo-wah!" He and the guy started to run towards the area in question.

"Good thinkin', they may need us."

When they arrived, the other guy started to fight while Robin caught sight of the source of the beams. It was really two people! One looked like a red, flying stingray, but the other was a girl with long red hair, who jumped off the stingray's back and landed in front of Robin.

"Starfire?!"

"Who's Starfire?" she asked.

Robin realized that she was wearing Earthly clothes and that she had used a contraction. His eyes became wide with embarrassment.

"Oop—! Sorry, thought you were…someone else."

"It's okay," she said. "Look out!"

"Wha—?"

A pink sphere formed around one of her hands, and she lobbed it at a Knight who was standing behind Robin.

"Thanks! I owe you—whoa!"

He took out a disc and hit the Knight who was about to attack her. His armor was covered now in ice.

"Huh?"

"Freeze disc. Comes in handy sometimes."

"Thanks," she said before calling, "Uh, Ben! A little help, please?"

"Comin' right atcha!" responded a somewhat strained voice to Robin's right.

The stingray thingy swooped down and shot more green rays from its eyes and tail. The Knights, again, shot at it.

"Time for me t'put on some weight!" it said.

It landed and brought its hand to an unusual looking circle with a vertical bowtie shape on its chest. There was flash of green light.

Robin almost fainted upon seeing what happened.

"HUMONGOUSAUR!"

The stingray had transformed into a giant dinosaur. The circle, however, was still there.

"What the—?! How—?"

"Talk later! Fight now!"

"Couldn't agree more," said Robin, taking out some of his exploding discs.

xXxXx

"Whew! No more guards t'fight," said the first guy Robin met. "That was satisfying."

He was back to normal, it seemed. He didn't any metal on him anymore.

"You said it, uh…I don't think I ever learned your names," Robin pointed out.

"All right. I'll start. I'm Kevin Levin. And these are Gwen and Ben Tennyson."

He gestured towards the girl and the dinosaur.

"We're Plumbers."

"Wha—? You work on pipes but you're fighting these bad guys?"

"No, no, no," said Gwen. "Plumbers are intergalactic policemen."

"Wha—? Huh?"

"We'll explain later. What about you?"

"Oh, me? I'm Robin of the Teen Titans."

"Robin?" asked the dinosaur. "I think I've heard of you! Didn't you work with—?"

"Please, let's not talk about it." Robin looked as uncomfortable with the subject as he sounded, but then softened. "We…don't work together anymore. Anyway, what to you happened while we were fighting? What does—?"

"Oh, this?" it asked, touching the circle.

"Yeah, what does it do?"

It twisted the circle, and there was another flash of green light. The dinosaur had disappeared. It its place, there was a brown-haired guy with green eyes and a green jacket.

"Okay, you're just freakin' me out now, uh, Ben?"

"Yep, that's me. Ben 10, wearer of the Omnitrix."

"The…Omnitrix?"

Ben held up his left arm. An unusual looking watch decorated his wrist.

"This little thing. Lets me turn into ten different alien superheroes whenever I'd like."

"Whoa," said Robin in surprise. "Cool! That stingray thingy and dinosaur were—"

"Excuse me?" Gwen interrupted. "Forever Knights with Imitators inside?"

Robin was a little confused.

"Imitators?"

"Galvan Imitators," Kevin informed him. "Can take any machine or stand of DNA and imitate what the original can do. Pretty high level alien tech."

"I can imagine," said Robin.

Then he realized something.

"Oh! Maybe that's why they kidnapped my friends! To power the Imitators!"

"Your friends? They have special powers?"

"Oh, yeah! They all have in-built or natural powers, but I don't have any, so I didn't get caught. Now we gotta get in! Now!"

"But how?" asked Kevin. "The Knights musta rigged the door with an alarm."

"Nothing to worry about." Ben was somewhat relaxed. "I'll take care of it."

"Oh, ya gonna use the one who became a—"

"Kevin!"

Ben seemed reluctant to talk about this subject.

"What are ya talking about?" Robin wanted to know.

"Never mind, let's go!" Gwen said urgently.

Robin watched as activated the Omnitrix and turned it to a cloaked figure. He then took his right hand and slammed it down. There was another flash of green light.

"Big…CHILL!

The blue moth spread its wings and flew at the drawbridge. At first, Robin thought he was going to smash into it, but Ben flew right through it as though it wasn't there! A moment later, it slowly fell to the ground.

"Come on!" Ben called to the others. "We're in!"

The other three ran in to join him, being sure to close the drawbridge behind him.

* * *

A/N: They're in. Now all they have to do is rescue the four Titans and get out, right? Predictions, suggestions, and comments are all welcome. Oh, one more thing, remember: Star herself is an alien.


	4. Partial Rescue

A/N: Okay, this is long chapter; in Word, it was about 10 pages! There's gonna be quite a bit of action.

Oh, and two WARNING: possibly frightening "image" a little past halfway. Also, possible spoiler for the episode "Good Copy, Bad Copy."

* * *

Chapter 3: Partial Rescue

Beast Boy was waking up from being knocked out. At first, all he knew was that he had a headache, and the rest of him didn't feel much better. As his senses gradually came back, he realized three things.

First, he was in a very quiet room, the only lights being the ones shining on and around him.

Second, he was lying down.

And third, he couldn't move.

"H…hello?" he asked into the darkness.

There was a groan to his left. A very familiar groan. He looked in that direction, after finding out he could move his head.

"Cyborg?"

"Oh, my head," Cyborg complained, still looking up. "Wha' happened?"

"Cyborg!"

Said Titan looked to his own right.

"B? That you?"

"So you both have come to your senses?"

"Star!" both boys shouted, looking left at her, or in Beast Boy's case, trying.

"You okay?" asked Cyborg.

"I…I…" she said, faltering.

A moment later, she simply burst into tears.

"Star! What's wrong?" BB wanted to know.

"Oh, Robin! Robin!"

"Robin? I'm sure 'e's comin'! Unless…" Cyborg thought out loud.

"H-he will not…be able to…to come…" Star said between sobs. "The Knights have…have gotten rid of him!"

"What?" asked Cyborg.

"No way!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Mmph?" said a third voice, quietly, before saying, "Mmph!" a little louder.

BB looked to his right.

"Raven?"

"Mm-hm," she said.

"Are you okay?"

"Mmm mmm! Mmmph mmph mm?"

She glared at him because he hadn't seen the obvious: a cloth covering her mouth.

"Oh."

"Ah, great," grumbled Cyborg. "She's gagged."

"Hmm hmm hm hm?" she replied.

This could roughly be translated to, "How could you tell?"

"I dunno, Raven," BB said, trying to lighten the mood. "That's kind of a good look for you."

She glared at him again and gave a little growl to show her disapproval.

"I certainly agree."

They all shouted or, in Raven's case, at least tried to shout in surprise.

"Who is there? Who said that?" Starfire asked, bending her neck to look.

The others did the latter as well.

"I did," said a silver-haired boy, looking about 15 years old.

A few Knights accompanied the speaker, who was walking into the light towards the four.

"Tilt them up," he commanded. "Do not let them strain their necks."

One Knight bowed and walked away. A moment later, the tables to which each Titan was raised to a more comfortable angle.

"Uh, thanks," said Cyborg. "But who are you?"

"I am Albedo of the Galvan."

At this, Star was a little confused.

"You look more like a human than a Galvan. I should know because I once met one on my home planet. Are the Galvan not supposed to be short and—"

"Do not remind me!" he snarled. "I made a copy of a device that remains with a human, but his DNA became mine. Later, this form was damaged, and now I am stuck in this human teenage body that has so many—"

"Okay, okay, we get the picture!"

Beast Boy was starting to get annoyed.

"Wait a sec. What's so special 'bout the Gallon?" Cyborg asked.

"Galvan! Not Gallon!" Albedo replied.

"Whateva."

"Anyway, despite our minuscule size, we possess superior intellect to that of humans. We are useful to other species as we can fit into complex machinery and repair them from the inside. Though I may not have small size anymore, but I still have my intellect. Using plans that we were able to steal, we have made THIS!"

Some other Knights brought forward a humanoid robot. Upon seeing it, Star gasped.

"Did you make a deal with…with…him?!"

"Vilgax?"

"Yes! Did you—?"

"No, we did not despite the similarities between his drones and this, my _magnum opus_."

"Uh, English, please," Beast Boy requested, less than politely.

"This is my masterpiece, a fully functional Galvan Imitator! Besides, I do not know if he still exists. Anyway, in a brief moment, we shall add each of your powers to it, and the Knights quest shall finally be fulfilled!"

At this point, all of the Titans started to struggle to get free, but their attempts were futile. Albedo turned to the Knights to give a command.

"Start with the green one," he told one.

"Yes, sir."

But the Knight hadn't even taken a step when there were three explosions in the direction the Titans were facing! The multitude of Knights above whom these occurred blasted at the debris, raised their shields, or just got out of the way. The others and Albedo turned around. The four held still.

"Yo, Forever Knights!" boomed a voice from the hole. "I think you wanna let those four Titans go!"

"And I can give you fourteen good reasons why!"

At the sound of the second voice, Star felt a sudden surge of hope, but then she lost it.

_Do not get your hopes up, Starfire,_ she told herself. _It is not possible for that to be—_

A figure jumped down through the hole and landed in front of the Knights.

"One."

Upon seeing who it was, she immediately felt three things: unbridled joy, righteous fury, and boundless confidence.

"Robin!" she shouted with a big grin on her face.

He showed her a thumbs-up and smiled at her as a second guy, covered in concrete, landed right next to him.

"Two."

A girl with hair that looked like hers ran down on pink platforms that disappeared after she stepped off them. Pink orbs formed around her hands.

"Three," she said as he reached the floor.

Finally, a large, blue moth swooped down to the floor as to join the others.

"Four," it said in a chilling voice.

Green light suddenly engulfed it, and in its place was a boy who looked uncannily like Albedo—that is, except for clothes, hair, and eyes.

"…through fourteen!"

"WHAT?" exclaimed three of the trapped at the same time.

"Ben Tennyson!" growled Albedo. "We meet again. Knights! After him! Capture him!"

"Another time, Albedo."

Ben activated the device on his wrist and slammed down the dial. There was another green flash.

"SWAMPFIRE!"

Several Knights shot Ben, but he instantly healed.

"No, you idiots! That's—" Albedo tried to warn the Knights.

"GO!" shouted Robin.

The fight was quite brief, but they were unable to catch Albedo or destroy the Imitator, with which Albedo and a few Knights retreated.

"Worry about them later! Free the others first!" Robin shouted.

They each ran to one Titan to help. Robin went to Star.

"Thank you, Robin! I thought that the Knights who had—"

"No, they didn't. I actually almost got them."

She thought it was funny and giggled.

"Now, hold still for a sec; I'll take those things off your hands."

While he was pulling, Ben was with Raven.

"Don't worry. This won't hurt," he told her as he broke the cloth covering her mouth.

She got a whiff of his hands and made a face of disgust.

"Ugh!" she said, turning her head away. "Oh, why did my rescuer have to smell like a living compost heap?"

"Oh! Well, uh…"

He grinned sheepishly and chuckled nervously.

"…sorry about that."

She sighed.

"Never mind. Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Her bonds were covered with dark energy and were broken.

"Whoa! How'd you do that?"

Meanwhile, Kevin released Beast Boy.

"Thanks, dude! But how do you—"

"Absorb stuff?"

"Yeah! How?

"I just touch any substance, and I can absorb it. But I need a lot from my whole body."

Finally, Gwen was freeing Cyborg.

"Whoa!" he said as she used pink sheets of energy like blades. "You an alien or somethin'?"

"Part alien," she replied. "My Grandma Verdona was one."

All the previously captive Titans were now up on their feet.

"All riiiight! Time to get outta here!"

"Wait!" replied Ben, still in Swampfire form, to Beast Boy. "We still gotta smash that Imitator they have. Unless you want them to come after you again."

"But first we gotta find it."

"Thank you, Kev—"

Ben was interrupted by a laser coming from a darkened corridor, which hit him in the neck. Starfire screamed as his head fell to the floor. The rest of him followed.

"Forever Knights!" shouted Kevin, grabbing onto Cyborg. "Mind if I borrow this?"

"Finally," boomed a voice in the direction from which the blast had come, "we are rid of accursed Ben 10!"

"I wouldn't count on it," said Gwen, looking at Ben on the ground.

A vine had come out of his neck and attached itself the head, dragging it back onto the body. When it connected, Ben stood up as though nothing had happened!

"Okay," he said, feeling his neck. "That…was weird. Really weird."

"Forever Knights, attack!"

Gwen raised a pink shield to block all the laserfire, but everyone could tell she was struggling to keep it up.

"How do we find it?" Robin asked in a whisper to all but Gwen. "That thing doesn't have a tracking device!"

"I have an idea," said Raven. "Lean in."

They did so and listened intently to the whispers.

"If yer doin' it, I'm comin' too," Beast Boy told her.

"You sure?"

He gave a nod.

"Don't get any ideas from this, okay?"

"Uh, a little help, please?"

Gwen's shield has some very large cracks on it.

"I think I gotta change for the occasion."

Ben twisted the circle on his chest; there was a green flash. Gwen lowered her shield.

All the lasers zapped Ben. However, he didn't look like he was in pain. In fact, he had just absorbed them!

"That…" he said, back still turned to the Knights, "…was a mistake!"

He turned around to face them. He had turned into Chromastone!

"You just powered me up!"

"Hold your ground!" shouted the one in charge.

"That's also a mistake!"

Ben extended his arms and shot his own multi-colored laser blasts at them, and they fell back for a moment. This was Robin's opportunity.

"All right, everyone!" he ordered. "GO!"

The Titans and Plumbers sprung into action as the Knights were given their signal.

"Let'see how tough y'dudes are!" boomed Cyborg, firing his blaster.

Unfortunately, although it hit the Knight at which he was aiming, it also got a couple of the crystals on Ben's back, which shattered.

"OW!"

Ben turned to face him.

"That a sonic blaster?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Please don't use it; I'm a living crystal here!"

"Aw, man," Cy said playfully. "Guess I'll just hafta do it the good ol' way!"

His blaster reverted to his arm, and he used his fists to good effect.

"Mind if I join?" Kevin asked him, punching out one Knight. "We got the same stuff."

"Sure thing, dude! Wait, same stuff?"

"Forever Knights!" shouted their commander. "You must recapture those Titans! You must—!"

Suddenly, Star stopped fighting one Knight and flew over in front of him. She had recognized his voice.

"You lied to me about Robin," she reminded him. "I do not like liars much, and I am stronger than I look."

Seeing her eyes glowing green, the commander took a couple step backward before turning around and running as fast as he could, screaming in terror! Star chased him, fists glowing.

"Get back here, you klorbag varglenilk!" she screamed at him as flew in his direction.

* * *

"Finally!" Cyborg shouted in relief. "No more Knights t'fight!"

There were quite a few unconscious ones decorating the ground.

"You're tellin' me!" said Ben, who was back in human form. "M'back still hurts a little."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that."

"No biggie."

Starfire flew in from where her Knight had run.

"So has the plan gone into action?" she asked.

"Y'think? How many of us are there?" Kevin asked.

"There are six including myself," she said after a moment. "That does mean that the plan has—"

"Yeah, we know."

"As long as they have their T-Phones," Robin said, holding his out, "we can track them, and, I believe, the Imitator. They're still moving."

"But while we are waiting, why do we not introduce ourselves to the others?"

"Good idea," Gwen told her. "You Starfire?"

Said Titan looked happily shocked.

"Why, yes, I am! How did you—"

Robin blushed.

"Oh, uh…I, uh, saw her hair and thought she was you."

"It is understood; we do have similar hair," she replied with a giggle. "Now I believe you've already met Robin. And this is Cyborg."

"Cyborg?" asked Kevin. "That's it?"

"Yep," Cyborg replied.

"Well, anyway, I'm Gwen," she replied. "These are my cousin Ben and our friend Kevin."

She pointed said guys out when she said their names.

"Nice to meet you," said Ben.

"Ooh!" Star said, pointing at Ben's wrist. "What is that, Ben? May I see it?"

"This, the Omnitrix? Sure!"

He held out his arm. But to his surprise, Starfire didn't just look at it; she started to caress it curiously.

"I have never seen anything like this before. Is this, the Omnitrix, what makes you able to—?"

"New DNA sample acquired."

Star shrieked and jumped back, one fist glowing. All of them were shocked to one degree or another.

"What the heck was that?!" asked Cyborg.

"It spoke!"

"'New form acquired'?" wondered Ben. "Could that mean…?"

He paused and looked at the Omnitrix.

"Okay, Raven and Beast Boy have stopped moving," said Robin, who was still looking at his T-Phone. "Now we can find them and hopefully the Imitator! I just hope the Knights haven't started copying yet! We're gonna need light 'cause they're thata way!"

Star held up her glowing fists as a lantern as Robin pointed out the direction. Gwen did the same. Green and pink light filled the room.

"Let's go!" shouted Ben.

The six heroes eagerly ran into the waiting hallway.

* * *

A/N: You think you know what happened? Well, let's just say Knights now have three more reasons! Oh, yes, I believe that even if his head damaged or cut off, as shown here, Swampfire still can repair himself.

Feel free to review and maybe give me ideas. Also, guesses are acceptable. Two more chapters to go!


	5. Incoming!

A/N: Yep, I'm back! Sorry this took so long (school and other things), but I hope it's worth it. A special thanks to the reviewer "noone" for giving me an idea for a little quibble in the middle of the story.

WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead for non-U.S. readers. Read at your own risk.

* * *

Chapter 4: Incoming!

Six heroes ran down the halls of the castle, two of whom were lighting the way.

"This way," called Robin, pointing left. "Just to the—wha?"

He stopped in confusion, and the others did the same.

"Dead end," grumbled Kevin.

"Their signals headed this way; they actually went through here!"

He pointed to the wall one their left.

"Don' worry," Cyborg told him. "I'll punch it down!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Kevin. "First, how'd'ya know they went this way? And how'd'ya know it's just a wall? _And_ how'd'ya know it's not booby-trapped?"

"Tracked them on my T-Phone," Robin pointed out, showing Kevin.

"Oh. And you?" he said, turning to Cyborg.

"Well…I will in a sec."

The first step of Cy's plan of action started with placing his hand on the wall, but that's as far as it went.

It turned out the brick he pressed was a button!

"Whoa!" he shouted as the wall suddenly rose up.

He fell with quite a bit of noise. The others flinched at the clangs. The hall ahead had torches on the walls and a door at the other end. Star and Gwen let their fists dim.

"Ow," Cyborg groaned.

"Shh! Everyone, quiet!" Ben urgently whispered.

There was an uneasy silence for a few seconds. No one else showed up ahead in the hall, good or bad.

"So that how," Kevin remarked.

"Shut up, wise guy," Cyborg grumbled, getting up and dusting himself off.

"Is your boyfriend always like that?" Star asked Gwen.

"'Fraid s—whoa-ho-ho-ho!" she said, her eyes getting large and indignant. "He is NOT my boyfriend!"

Star seemed a little confused.

"But he is a boy, and—"

"Hold the discussion," Ben told them. "We gotta free the others."

Star looked even more confused.

"Is it possible to hold a discussion?"

"That just means we don't talk about it for a while."

"Oh," was the rather giggly reply.

"Anyway," said Robin, extending his bo, "we'd better go prepared, might be trouble—"

CRASH.

"—oh, no."

A Knight had suddenly landed in front of the six heroes to make sure they did not pass.

"Ah, MAN!"

Ben, Gwen, and even Kevin—the first having spoken—most definitely knew this guy. However, he was somewhat bigger—and uglier—than he had been five years before.

It was the Forever Knight Ninja.

* * *

_Man, I didn't think it would be this hard._

Beast Boy was strapped to a tilted table once again. Raven was right next to him, and she had been gagged again.

_I still think it's a good look for her._

"Now, you two," said Albedo, who was standing in front of them, "I assume that your accommodations are…comfortable, are they not?"

_Comfortable…waaaait a sec…why have I been so stupid?_

"Well," Beast Boy said confidently, "they're about to become a little more comfortable!"

The shapeshifter tried to turn into his gorilla form, but that didn't work out so well. As soon as he tried, he felt an electric shock all over his body. Raven winced.

"YEOUCH!"

This caught everyone's attention. Some of the Knights thought it was funny.

"I hope that current stimulated that brain of yours, Beast Boy," said Albedo, coolly. "Yours is special designed to keep you in, no matter which animal you attempt to become."

"We'll see about THAT!"

The next tried form was a mouse, but this ended even worse. As soon as he began to shrink, bolts of electricity forced him to stop and return to normal. Raven looked away after a few seconds of this; although she often grew tired of his antics, it was terrible to see such a thing happening to him.

_No no no no no…_ he thought, nearly in panic.

He tried one shape after another, but try as he might, he just couldn't escape! Finally, dizzy and tired, he gave up. He let his tongue flop out of his mouth, so tired was he. Unfortunately, this actually gave Albedo an idea.

"Quick! Take a swab of his tongue!"

One of the Knights went forward with a swab, grabbed BB's tongue, and did as commanded. This was not very pleasant for the hero, as the gauntlet didn't taste very good.

"Plah plah plah!" he sputtered. "What was that for?"

"You ought to know this, both of you."

The captured Titans looked at Albedo.

"When I saw your tongue, Beast Boy, I was merely reminded that human saliva contains white blood cells, which, in turn, hold DNA. And that little is enough to activate the Imitator!"

"Wha—?!"

"Now we shall test its DNA copying abilities. If it works, she will be next."

"NO!"

But amidst this, Raven knew something that the others were unaware of.

_Think you're so clever, Albedo? Well, you're not giving it my powers, even if you get my DNA. I know that for sure._

* * *

Out in the hall, no one was moving, not even the Ninja.

"They're serious, all right," muttered Kevin. "That guy's the one'a the worst."

"What do we do?" whispered Star in fear.

"We're gonna take him down," said Robin. "No matter what!"

"Knew you was gonna say that!" grinned Cyborg.

The Ninja reached back and drew his swords.

"Titans! Plumbers! GO!"

Robin and the others charged past Ben as he turned the Omnitrix on.

_Definitely not!_ he thought as he turned the dial from a three-horned alien.

The next alien, however, was one he didn't think he had seen before! It almost looked like a human.

_Wait a sec…who's—WHOA!_

He had looked up just in time. As he dodged one of the Ninja's stars, he instinctively slammed down the dial. There was a green flash of light.

_Oh, man, that was close…_

He looked down at his hands.

_Wha—?_

They had become a golden hue. His clothing had changed as well. It looked similar to Star's, but it looked more designed for a guy.

_Wait…the Omnitrix said, "New form acquired." Could I be…_

At that moment, Star flew backwards, screaming.

"Starfire!" Ben shouted in a deeper voice than his own.

He ran behind her and caught her before she hit the ground.

"I thank you—" she started to say.

She took one look at his face, gasped, and jumped to her feet. Her eyes grew very round.

"What?"

"You…you are me! I did not know you could do such a thing!"

"Oh…uh…well…neither did I," he replied with a chuckle.

"Star? A little help, please?" called Robin.

He was struggling to hold back against the Ninja's swords so it didn't hit him or Gwen, who was throwing pink balls at the Ninja's head. Cyborg and Kevin were unsuccessfully to smash said weapons, as they were constantly moving.

"Let us go!"

"Yeah! Let's!"

Star took off; Ben just ran.

"All right, Forever freak! Try this!"

Ben swung his hand, attempting to throw a starbolt. Nothing happened. The Ninja stopped to stare blankly at Ben as one of the former's parries sent Robin flying.

"Wha—? What did I do wrong?" Ben asked.

He tried again several times but had no success. Meanwhile, the others saw this as an opportunity. They charged at the Ninja, but he was ready for them even though he was putting his swords away. With a single swipe of his arm, he sent Robin, Kevin, and Cyborg flying. Gwen got on one of her platforms to get a better shot at the Ninja. Starfire flew to join her, but the Ninja shot out a metal cord from his hand, entangling the two screaming girls.

_Starfire! Gwen!_

The Ninja grabbed the chord and gave it a swing. The girls went flying over Ben, landing near the others.

That was a mistake on the Ninja's part.

"That's it," Ben growled. "NOW I'm mad!"

He clenched his fist—which, unbeknownst to Ben, was glowing green—and swung his arm.

A green bolt of energy hit the Ninja in the face. He stumbled back slightly.

_Did I just—? _thought Ben._ I got angry, and then I could throw those energy bolts! Maybe that's how it works!_

"Want some more?" he asked the Ninja.

The response was the Ninja drawing his swords.

"Okay, you asked for it!"

Meanwhile, the others were recovering from being hit or thrown. Kevin was the first to realize what was going on.

_What the…is that Ben attacking the Ninja? How's he throwing those bolts? He couldn't a second ago!_

"Hey, guys! Look at Ben!"

They all looked with wide eyes.

"He is doing it!" cried Star, happily.

"I could use a little help over here, please!"

Ben didn't even look back them, knowing that would make him vulnerable. He was throwing starbolts at the Ninja's face, but that was barely slowing said villain down! He was continuously trying to block the attacks with his swords, but he was slowly approaching Ben.

"C'mon, let's go!"

The other five ran or, in Star's case, flew over to join the fight.

"Would you care for some more?"

Star threw her starbolts the bad guy's face as well. The second barrage forced the Ninja to stop advancing and drop his swords. He continued to try to block, this time with his arms.

"Here I come!"

Gwen ran up on her platforms to throw her energy bolts. The Ninja started to back up again.

"Let's take him out!" shouted Kevin.

The three who were throwing energy stopped just before the stone-covered hero delivered a devastating uppercut. He actually knocked the Ninja's helmet clean off the armor, revealing a somewhat-stunned bald man inside.

"Comin' through!"

Robin ran past the others and behind the stumbling villain. He threw a device onto the powered armor similar to that, which had used on Gizmo's backpack quite some time before.

"My turn!"

Cyborg had the honors of running up and delivering the final blow, square on the Ninja's chest.

CRASH!

The Ninja fell backwards, landed on his back, and groaned.

"Booyah!" shouted Cyborg.

"You said it, Cyborg!" Kevin replied, looking at stunned Knight in the now-powered-down armor.

The former reverted to normal.

"So THAT'S what it meant!" said Ben, still in Tamaranean form. "I can turn into a…a…I gotta get a nickname."

Star looked puzzled.

"Just a thing I do with all of my aliens. I give them some nickname like Big Chill or Swampfire."

"Ohhh!"

"One thing, though; how do I look?"

Gwen pulled out a makeup container with a mirror inside it from her pocket to show Ben.

"Whoa…"

He looked almost like himself except the following. First, his skin had turned the same golden color as Star's was. The whites of is eyes now had a greenish tinge to them. Finally, his hair looked a little redder than normal.

"So now that I'm one of you, Star," he said, turning to her, "what can you do?"

"I was somewhat hoping that you would ask!" she giggled. "In order to use your starbolts, you must feel righteous fury. But I think that you have already figured that out as you were using them before."

"Yeah, seeing Big Ugly throw you and Gwen away like that really got to me. So how about flight?"

"Unbridled joy will enable you to take flight. A joyous memory can help you in this way."

"Let me think…"

Ben closed his eyes and tried to think of what Star had suggested.

_Which one should I—oh, I know!_

In this one, Ben was in cave. A cloaked figure sat in from of a fire. Ben started to talk to this man, who in turn, much to Ben's surprise, offered a bowl of his "famous centipede gumbo", lowering his hood to reveal his face. A face Ben knew very well.

_I can't believe it! He's alive?! But that Null Void grenade…_

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

Ben opened his eyes to see what Star was talking about.

He was hovering.

"This is so cool!"

"You are amazing! You have mastered those powers faster than when Raven and I were switched!"

Hearing the word "Raven", Robin suddenly remembered why they had come that way.

"Oh, no!" shouted Robin, his eyes widening. "Raven and Beast Boy!"

"They coulda used their powers on that Imitator thingamajig while we was fightin'!" realized Cyborg. "We gotta get it there!"

"So what'r'we waitin' for?" asked Kevin. "Let's do it!"

He touched the side of the wall and then charged at the door.

* * *

A/N: Okay, left at a cliffhanger...again. This chapter really went through rewriting; I actually was planning to make this chapter longer, but 2,000 words is long enough, don't you think? Feel free to tell me what you think, and be ready for the next chatper.

End of line.


	6. Fight!

A/N: As a certain video game angel once said, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

So, yes, I'm still alive and still writing. But almost four years without an update...where did the time go?! Yikes...I owe you all an apology. Especially those of you who've been waiting for so long. "Be ready for the next chapter," I said, but then procrastination, loss of interest, and life happened...bad combo for writing, don't you think? Still thanks to all you who put me on your Story or Author Alerts.

Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own these characters. The Titans belong to DC Comics, and Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action.

FYI: This is NOT the final chapter. I felt the rest of the story was getting too long for one chapter, so I split it into two. I also have a couple things to say afterwards. But for right now...enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Fight!

Beast Boy looked up at the darkened higher part of the chamber, almost hope help would fall in from there. Then he looked down at everyone in front of him_._

He, Raven, Albedo, and the ten Knights who were in the chamber with them had just seen the result of the experiment with the Imitator. And he and Raven were still stuck on the two examination tables.

"That was an excellent demonstration, Imitator," Albedo said to the machine. "You may have surpassed the skill of the green one!"

"Thank you, sir," it said in a weird, emotionless, mechanical voice.

"HEY!"

They all turned to look at Beast Boy.

"You take that back!"

"Make me," Albedo taunted him.

"Oh, I—YAAAAH!"

Beast Boy had forgotten about the anti-escape device until he had tried to escape and gotten zapped once again. The Knights laughed at his stupid mistake. Raven sighed and looked away.

"Perhaps," laughed one, "he has no brain!"

"You know very well that such a thing is impossible," Albedo told him.

"In that case, he may not use it very much!"

Albedo glared at him. The laughing stopped.

"Hey, that my line!"

Raven groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Back to the matter," Albedo continued. "It is time to equip the Imitator with the girl's powers."

_No! If they get Raven's powers…oh, man, I don't even wanna think about it!_

A Knight started to approach Raven. She hung her head in a seeming pose of surrender.

_C'mon, guys! What's takin' you so—_

Beast Boy's thought was interrupted by a loud crash. The door leading into the chamber suddenly flew halfway across the room! On the other side was the same guy who had freed him earlier. From his pose, he had just punched it in.

_Whoa! Talk about timing!_

This guy ran into the room, followed by five others. One of the others caught BB's eyes the most.

_Wha—?! I didn't know that Star could duplicate!_

"What?! Impossible!"

"Believe it, Albedo," said the guy who had caught Beast Boy's attention. "We took Mr. Ninja down back there!"

Albedo hadn't been specific enough, though.

"Ben Tennyson? Are you—?" he asked the speaker.

"Yes," said another hero. "He can now become one of me!"

_Wait a sec…is that the guy who turned into that "Swampfire" thingy early? Now he can turn into Starfire?! _

"I'll make this simple, Albedo," said the first speaker, now identified as Ben. "Unless you, the Knights, or the Imitator want permanent sunburns—" He raised his fists, which were glowing green. "—release the Titans!"

"NEVER!" shouted one Knight.

He lifted his weapon and took aim.

"No, you fool!"

Albedo's warning came too late; the Knight had fired. Ben had dodged the laser blast.

"All right, now I'm mad!"

He rose up a little high; Starfire joined him. The six free heroes got into their ready positions. The Knights started to lift their weapons, but they were a little slow…

"Everyone!" Robin shouted. "Go!"

_Hard to do when I can't move,_ Beast Boy thought jokingly.

The fight was rather short; unconscious Knights lay all over the room. The stone guy had taken out the Imitator with one punch, sending it out of his field of vision. For some odd reason, it hadn't moved at all to defend itself...

That aside, Albedo had currently nowhere to hide. He was inching towards the wall to the restrained heroes' right.

"Game over, Albedo," Ben said.

"Not quite, Ben Tennyson," the silver-haired bad guy said.

Then he shouted.

"Imitator! Subdue them! Take their powers if you can do so!"

He turned around and ran towards the wall. He then pressed on it. A section of it suddenly rose; it was a hidden door! He bolted through it into the darkness that lay ahead.

"Get back here, Albedo!" shouted the redheaded girl other than Star.

Not wasting a second, she conjured up a pillar of pink energy to hold the door up.

"Gwen, what'r'ya—?"

The stone guy didn't have time to finish his question, as this girl, Gwen, ran for the door as well. Someone else flew towards as well.

"Star, wait—!" Robin tried to call.

Both girls had barely made it through the door when the pillar disappeared. The door fell closed with a resounding thud.

"NO!"

"Auto-repairs completed," said the weird, mechanical voice. "Command acknowledged."

_Wha—? Wh-what's goin' on?_ Beast Boy thought.

The others looked up and exchanged looks of confusion at the voice.

"Oh, no!" the stone guy shouted, starting to look scared. "The Imitator!"

The next thing they all knew, there were a series of clanks and then an engine noise.

_Uh-oh…_

Suddenly, a motorcycle zoomed towards the four standing heroes and jumped over them. Six pairs of eyes followed it. Said motorcycle changed back into the Imitator in midair and made a quiet, graceful landing. Finally, it changed into a wolf shape, turning back towards the free heroes in order to snarl at them. Understandably, all of them started to back up.

"Rats!" the stone guy groaned. "Forgot how strong those things c'n be!"

"Oh, yeah?" Cyborg replied, raising a fist. "Well, it don't know ME!"

"Cyborg, I don't think that's—"

Robin's warning had come a little too late. Cyborg had already charged at the robot. He then gave the Imitator a knuckle sandwich. Only Cyborg's hand went _into_ its mouth, and then it bit down. Hard.

"YEOWCH!"

Then its eyes seemed to close, and the whole thing seemed to vibrate. Cyborg tried to pull away as it did.

_And the last time it did that was when—_

"Oh, no! It's copying his system!"

"No duh, Kevin," Ben responded.

"Oh no you don't!" Robin shouted, drawing his bo. "Let him go, you rusty fleabag!"

But before he could reach them, the Imitator opened its eyes and started to spin Cyborg around so fast that it practically made a vortex around the two of them. Robin forced himself to stop.

Then the Imitator obeyed Robin's last command.

"Whoooooooa—!"

Cyborg flew straight past Beast Boy and Raven and—CRASH!—hit the wall on the other side. Both of them winced as he fell to the floor.

"C'n someone stop the room?" Cyborg mumbled groggily. "I'd like to t'get off, please…"

_Aw, crud…  
_

The Imitator turned to the others and changed back to its normal form.

"Now," it asked, "who shall be next?"

"You will," Robin snarled. "I'll make sure of it!"

"So will I," Ben added.

"Make that three of us!" Kevin put in.

The Imitator's right arm adjusted. It then pointed the sonic blaster, identical to Cyborg's, at the three challengers.

"I think not," it replied. "I shall destroy you!"

It fired at them, but the three heroes dodged.

"Keep it busy!" Ben shouted from the air. "I'll release the other two!"

He hurled a starbolt down to the Imitator, causing it to stumble backwards when it was hit in the face. Robin and Kevin charged at it, getting it its way, while Ben zoomed down towards Beast Boy.

_Wait a sec…what if—?!_

"Dude, wait!" BB warned. "My clamper-thingies! They might might zap you if y'touch 'em!"

Ben paused for a moment, and then reached out a finger towards one of the bonds holding the green hero in place. He hadn't quite touched it when he felt a shock.

"Ow!" He pulled his hand back and shook it for a moment. "Oh, man, you're right. Maybe I could melt off, or—"

He paused, looked over at Raven, and brought a hand to his forehead.

"How could I forget?"

"Forget wha—?" Beast Boy started to ask.

Ben then moved over to Raven.

"Ohhh!"

As he did before, Ben slipped his hands around the gag and tore it off.

"Thank you," she said. "Now you can—"

"Got it," said Ben. "Standin' back!"

Raven closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Azarath Metrion…"

They sprang open, glowing with black energy.

"_Zinthos_!"

The bonds were surrounded by the same sort of energy. A split second later, they broke open.

"All right!" Beast Boy leapt to his feet. "Beast Boy's back in the game! Let's take it—"

"Look out!" Raven shouted, conjuring a shield in front of the three of them.

He looked through it and flinched on reflex.

The Imitator had thrown Kevin, still covered in stone, in his direction and would have hit him with a painful force, had Raven not seen Kevin in time. The shield disappeared as soon as Kevin lay in a somewhat-uncomfortable position on the floor. There were several stoneless patches all over his body.

"Dude! You okay?" Beast Boy shouted, running up to him.

The other two floated over as Kevin sat up, rubbing his forehead.

"Never underestimate an Imitator," he grumbled. "I let up a little too much."

Robin was currently the only one fighting the thing at all! And it didn't look promising.

"I'll take care of it," Raven said solemnly.

"Wait," said Kevin.

Ben voiced the question on the others mind: "What're you gonna do, Raven?"

Before she could answer, it tried to throw Robin away as well. He was lucky enough to get back in control of himself to get to the ground without getting hurt. The Imitator turned towards the others.

"Watch," she told then.

She muttered the three words and levitated the Imitator as Robin sent Ben a thumbs-up. But after about ten seconds…

"Dude," Beast Boy said, not taking his eyes off the robot, "now's a good time to take that thing apart."

"You think I'm not trying?" Raven responded with a strained voice.

He then took a look at her face. A drop of sweat was dripping down from her forehead.

_Sweat?! No way, somethin's not right here…_

Her breathing had just gotten heavier when there was a humming noise from the Imitator. A few seconds later, Raven shrieked, falling to her hands and knees and breathing hard, like when Jinx the Wizardcat had stolen her power. And she dropped it.

"RAVEN!" Robin called out, running over.

He had just made it over when they heard the mechanical voice again.

"Auto-repairs completed."

The five of them looked up at the resilient robotic ruffian.

"I'll hold it back!" Ben called flying over, fists glowing.

"I'm comin', too, Tennyson!" Kevin said, first getting a new stone coat and then charging.

Robin stayed with Raven instead of joining Ben.

"I'm fine," she finally said, getting to her feet. "A little shaken, but fine."

"What happened to you, Raven?" Beast Boy wondered.

"I don't really know," she admitted. "I tried taking that thing apart, but it was…was…_resisting_ me."

"Resisting?" Robin was a little confused.

"It was like there was another force holding it together. And the harder I pulled, the harder it did. Then that robot vibrated so much I couldn't hold it."

"Oh, boy," Beast Boy muttered, his eyes wide.

Sounds of energy projection drew Robin's attention to the fight. Kevin was just picking himself up off the ground, still covered in stone. The Imitator was holding Ben in its currently swollen right hand. The sound was Ben's blasting its shoulder with starbolts.

"I am not amused, Ben Tennyson. An insignificant amount of heat cannot hurt me," it said in its creepy robotic voice.

"Oh, yeah? How about this?" Kevin charged in and punched it in the red-hot shoulder.

This gave Robin an idea.

"Kevin!" he called out. "Rip its shoulder armor open!"

"Why would I wanna—?"

"Just do it!" Robin pulled out an explosive disk.

Kevin immediately understood. He did as Robin asked and then, very wisely, got out of the way.

Robin threw the disk. The Imitator didn't even try to defend itself.

KABOOM!

The robot fell onto its back, down one arm.

"Nice save, Robin," Ben said, freeing himself from said arm.

"Not a long-lasting one, though," Kevin commented. "This type of Imitator can self-repair like Swampfire."

"What?!" everyone else blurted out at the same time.

"Yeah, 'bout a Level 12. They send out wires to connect to the lost limbs, then pull them back in to repair themselves. That's what makes them really dangerous."

"You mean like that?" Raven asked.

Everyone looked. A wire crept out of its shoulder and connected with the severed arm. The wire pulled it back to the shoulder, and the arm fixed itself within seconds.

"Oh, man," Ben mumbled as the thing stood up.

One of its arms adjusted into a sonic blaster, which it once again aimed at the heroes. Ben could only think of one thing to do at the moment.

"Hey," he asked it, pointing. "Who's that behind you?"

The Imitator stopped and looked behind itself. No one was there.

And the reason behind the question became all too obvious when it got a punch in its chest.

"You tricked me," it observed as it had recovered. "But your attempt shall be in vain. I shall capture you all."

"I don't think so!" Robin shouted. "TITANS, GO!"

Everyone, except for the recalibrating Cyborg, went after the Imitator.

* * *

A/N: Hope it was worth the wait. I'll try to get Chapter 6 done when I can. But time for a couple announcements:

First, I'm changing my pen name. My new name will be "Roman Vulcan".

Second, I am planning and writing a new fanfic to publish soon after I'm done with _Titans Forever_. I won't give away that much right now, but I will say it is NOT connected to any of my previous works, outside of brief references. More info to come.

Thanks for reading!

End of line.


	7. Knighty Knight!

A/N: Has it been four years yet? No? Good, I didn't keep hitting snooze this time.

Just a quick note about this chapter: I recommend you read _Titanic Sourpuss_ and _Jinxed!_ (in that order) if you want to understand some things in this chapter. This chapter contains an OC whom I introduced in those stories. They may not be that good now, but feel free to take a look.

* * *

Chapter 6: Knighty Knight!

_Kevin was right about the Imitator,_ Raven thought as she blasted the robot with her energy bolts. _That thing IS strong._

It has been about a minute of fighting with the Imitator, but they might as well had done nothing. Even her powers had proven nearly useless when she attacked it.

_But come to think of it, there's more to that machine than meets the eye. I mean, how can it resist my powers so well…?_

"Raven, look out!"

Beast Boy's warning had come just in time, right before a sonic blast was fired. It whizzed through the area where she had been a moment earlier.

"Your abilities are useless against me," it told them. "You ought to surrender now if you want to remain unhurt."

Just then, Beast Boy looked past it and reacted to something. Then he pointed and shouted, "Hey, who's that behind you?"

Everyone looked at him, shocked. The Imitator didn't turn around.

"That trick was used once on me, but I will not be tricked again."

Beast Boy grinned at it, as if he had just done something really clever.

"As you humans say, 'Fool me once, shame on you,'" it continued. "'Fool me twice—'"

"—shame on YOU, bit-brain!" interrupted a voice.

From behind the Imitator.

It turned around to look. Then it went flying across the room, a fist-shaped dent on its face.

"Booyah."

"All right!" shouted Robin. "Great to see ya up again, Cyborg!"

"Yeah," Cyborg replied. "The spinnin' and the crashin' really messed up my systems for a little bit there. But they're all stable now."

Then he looked down at Beast Boy with a rather angry expression and bared his teeth. Raven raised her hands, just in case. The others got the signal before…

"WHA'D'YA THINK YOU WAS _DOIN'_?!" Cyborg bellowed at the top of his lungs. "WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON, ANYWAY?!"

_Had a feeling…_

Beast Boy grinned nervously.

"Heh heh. Well, uh…y'see, uh…I was trying to focus it on me so you could—"

"And how's directin' attention to me helpin' me?"

"Dude, Ben did the 'behind you' trick once. I was trying to make it not expect that by making it—"

"C'n we hold on this conversation?" Kevin asked.

The Imitator had recovered. It turned into a motorcycle yet again and revved its engine.

"Titans! Get ready!"

Robin's order was obeyed promptly. Kevin dropped down to absorb stone from the floor.

The Imitator was started towards them.

"Wait for it…" Robin said.

A little closer.

"Wait for it…"

It was almost upon them.

"GO!"

Ben took off and blasted several starbolts directly at the motorcycle, which swerved and retransformed. It prepared its sonic cannon once again.

"Oh no you don't!"

Kevin clobbered it hard in the face. Then a green rhinoceros began charging at it.

_Just as long as it doesn't—_

The robot had fully recovered before Beast Boy had reached it and proceeded to turn into a tiger. The hero panicked for a moment, turning back into himself.

"Let's see how YOU like it!"

Cyborg unleashed his sonic cannon on the robot, knocking it sideways. Robin invited two exploding disks to the party. The resulting boom put up a thick curtain of smoke, so the Imitator was invisible.

"Careful!" Kevin shouted. "It may still be—"

Before he could say "up", a sonic blast, which barely missed all the heroes, confirmed his statement. The machine marched out of the smoke with its blaster arm forward.

"I got it!" Ben shouted, fists glowing.

He swooped down from the air and blasted it with starbolts, but to no avail. One sonic blast later, he fell like the Ninja had in the hallway, down and backwards.

The Imitator then knocked down three heroes in one blast. Robin and Raven, however, dodged its subsequent attacks.

Robin then drew his bo and ran at the Imitator with a growl that became a karate yell. He took a swing at the Imitator, knocking it backwards a couple steps. He hit it again. And again! And—

CLANG!

His bo landed right in its right hand, which snapped shut around it. Then it lifted the bo into the air—with a wide-eyed Robin attached! Before either he or Raven could react, it started to spin him around over its head. Then it gave the bo a mighty swing, sending him tumbling near the opposite wall. Finally, after the hero had landed, it simply squeezed the metal weapon around the middle with one hand, breaking it in two.

_It's just you and me now, robot,_ Raven thought, staring it down.

They paused for about a minute. Raven made the first move.

"_Azarath_…" she said, feeling the power build in her hands.

It transformed into some cat-like form.

"_Metrion_..."

She spun around to concentrate her power. The Imitator prepared to pounce.

Raven leaned her head back…and stopped cold. Something had caught her attention.

Up in the shadows of the room, she spotted two little lights. Lights which looked suspiciously like eyes. And around them was a shadow that looked a little darker than the rest. Suddenly, the lights and the shadow seemed to disappear…or did it turn into a dark streak that zoomed behind her. It almost looked like the power of super speed…

_Oh, no...don't tell me HE was involved—_

"RAVEN! IMITATOR!" Beast Boy called out.

"Huh?"

This time, however, his warning had come too late. She had only been distracted for a moment, but that's all it took. Before she knew it, the Imitator had pinned her to the ground.

For some reason, Raven didn't struggle. The Imitator turned back into its humanoid form and stared her right in the eyes.

"Get offa her, ya pile a'junk!"

Beast Boy got on his feet and charged. The Imitator simply lifted its right arm and turned it into a sonic blaster, which it aimed at him.

"Do not interfere." The Imitator fired at him.

Beast Boy flew back towards the other stunned heroes. The Imitator looked back down at Raven, converting the blaster back into an arm.

"Do not resist. This will not be painful unless necessary."

_Well, that's nice to know._

It reached for her mouth and pried it open, coating its fingers in her siliva. At the same time, it opened a slot on its face, which looked a lot like a mouth itself.

_And here comes the gross part…_

Raven looked away as it sampled her DNA. It stood up and got off her, allowing her to levitate to the others, who were all getting up. For some reason, she seemed rather calm.

"What's goin' on—?" Kevin started to ask.

Then he spotted the Imitator. Its eyes had pulled back into its head, and it was shaking.

"NO! SOMEBODY STOP IT—!"

Raven held up her hand.

"Just wait," she said calmly.

"But it's got your DNA! And—"

"It'll get my powers?" She turned around and smiled. "Don't be so sure."

Kevin looked confused for a second but then he became alert. The Imitator had stopped shaking, and its eyes were out. After a long second, it spoke.

"Abilities not found." The robotic voice sounded confused. "Peculiar. I must analyze again."

Once again, its eyes retracted and closed. It started to shake again and make its noises. And again, after a few seconds, it stopped and opened its eyes.

"Abilities not found," it repeated. "Peculiar. I must analyze again."

Most of the guys stared at the Imitator, puzzled by this turn of events. Kevin looked completely lost.

"Um…" said Ben. "What's that all about?"

"Don't ask me!" said Kevin. "I've never heard of one actin' like this before!"

Suddenly, realization dawned on the faces of the three male Titans.

"Waaaaaait a sec…" said Cyborg. "Your powers ain't genetic, right, Rae?"

Raven gave a solemn nod.

"Wha—they're actually magic?" Ben asked, looking quite puzzled. "I mean, I thought there was no such thing—"

"What did you think it was? Some kind of alien power?"

"Well…yeah, sorta like Gwen. I mean, it looks like magic, but it isn't. Bu—but yours is real?"

Raven nodded again as the Imitator attempted to analyze her DNA once again.

"Oh, yeah!" Beast Boy shouted. "You gave us your powers once! Remember? At the end of the world?"

Ben and Kevin gawked at him.

"THE END OF THE WORLD?!" they said at the same time.

"Long story," said Raven with a "don't ask" tone.

Ben and Kevin got the hint. Then they all looked over at the Imitator, which had apparently disregarded them.

"So how long's it gonna be stuck on that loop?" Cyborg asked Kevin.

"I dunno. First time I've heard of an Imitator gettin' stuck like this. But I'd bet it's smart enough to stop before it fries itself."

"Then how do we scrap it?" Robin asked. "It's self-repairing. Any damage we do won't mean a thing!"

"Unless…we destroy a specific part," said Kevin. "The central intelligence unit in its head. But that's _the_ most armored part in this version."

Everyone turned to look at him with strangely similar shocked expression.

"Why did you say so sooner?!" Ben demanded.

"I didn't know it was a Level 12, Tennyson," Kevin snapped back. "And we tend to forget things when we're—"

"That doesn't matter right now," Cyborg interrupted. "So wha'do we do?"

"Right now, we need a plan," replied Robin. "Huddle up, everyone."

Everyone did so, including a reluctant Raven.

_I just hope that shadow wasn't who I thought it was…_

* * *

Up in the shadows, he growled as he listened. He had felt quite gleeful when the Imitator was fighting them, but now…

_This cannot happen! They must be stopped! I must pounce down and—_

**Um, isn't that against the treaty?** a voice similar to his said in his head.

He covered his left eye with a paw, giving a small grunt.

_Silence, you! I do not need your counsel!_

**Juuuust wait a sec. Their little plan may just fail.**

_The last time you said that, it did not!_

**And didn't she see you? You don't wanna confirm her suspicions now…do you?**

Again, he growled. The voice brought up a good point. He didn't want to reveal himself to the Titans or their new friends.

_Very well. I shall remain._

The voice didn't answer. He continued to growl as he pulled out a small communication device from his cloak. His tail never stopped twitching.

* * *

For perhaps the twentieth time in a row, the Imitator opened its eyes.

"Abilities not found. Peculiar. I must analyze a—"

"Yo, can-head!" came a voice from in front of it.

A sonic blast caused it to stumble backwards.

"Analysis suspended. Re-entering combat mode."

It raised a sonic blaster to retaliate against Cyborg. But before it could do anything, it got blindsided by a green rhino. It turned back into Beast Boy, who quickly got out of the way.

"Okay, Ben! Let 'er rip!" Robin shouted.

The Imitator turned around just in time to get pelted by a flurry of starbolts. After a few seconds, it tried to shoot him down. It failed because Kevin, having just gotten a new stone coat, struck down its arm before it could fire. Then he tore into its chest armor, opening a large hole. Then he, Cyborg, and Beast Boy ran behind Raven; Ben flew behind her.

Robin then charged at the Imitator, several objects in hand. He threw them in the hole in the Imitator's torso as it sealed up. Then he, too, ran behind Raven.

The Imitator turned to look at them.

"What did you throw inside me?" it asked.

Robin ignored the question at first.

"Raven?"

She nodded and raised a shield around them all. Then Robin took something off his belt and smiled at the Imitator.

He then pressed the button on the detonator. The Imitator beeped.

"Curses," it said in its emotionless voice.

KABOOM!

Red-hot robot pieces went flying, with several, including an arm, bouncing off the shield. The Imitator's head rolled in front of them. When everything settled, Raven lowered the shield.

"Quick, Tennyson! Get the brain!" shouted Kevin.

Ben flew to the head and picked it up. Using his Tamaranian strength, he tore it open and pulled out a block with two of its eyes attached.

"Do not think this a victory," said the block. "I can still repair myself from damage even this extensive."

"That sounds like a long process," Ben replied with a smile as the others gathered round. "But will it work without your brain?"

The Imitator's brain said nothing. Then its eyes looked at each other, as if it had gone cross-eyed. Ben dropped it on the ground.

"I hate you all," it informed them.

Ben closed his eyes and concentrated.

_I've gotta get mad. REALLY mad. And I've got just the memory!_

In this memory, he and Kevin were just checking on Gwen and her date. When they got there, Gwen was shriveled up like a prune, but her date was starting to glow gold with godlike power…

_What?! I trusted you! So it was _you_ all along…_

He opened his eyes with a yell and expressed his fury with an intense, constant starbolt. When he was done, all that remained of the robot's brain was a red-hot puddle.

A green flash enveloped Ben, and he was human once again.

"I was wonderin' when you'd change back," mumbled Kevin.

"You and me both," Ben replied, looking at the Omnitrix, once again on his wrist.

Suddenly, the floor was alight with loud crackles and pops, making everyone jump.

"O-okay, wh-who brought the firecrackers?" stammered Beast Boy.

"Self-destructing nanobots…" Kevin sounded impressed. "That's how it kept repairing itself."

They all paused to look at the room, littered with robot parts and unconscious Knights. Ben gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh, man, I gotta thank Starfire for—"

He stopped and gasped. Everyone turned to him.

"Oh, no, Gwen and Starfire! They went after Albedo, and we forgot about them!"

Robin quickly pulled out his T-Phone.

"Hold up, I can find—huh?"

Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg pulled out their T-Phones as well.

"She's close," said Cyborg. "An' comin' this way!"

"How soon will she—?" Ben started to ask.

A female grunt and a sliding sound interrupted him. The hidden door Albedo and the girls had run through was opening! And lifting it up was Starfire!

When she saw them, she smiled broadly.

"Friends! We have returned, and we have been victorious!"

A pair of pink pillars appeared on either side of the door, allowing Star to let it go and enter. Behind her was Gwen, hauling out a very miserable Albedo by the collar. Albedo's hands were behind his back, held together by pink energy.

"So, how're things here?" she asked, nonchalantly.

"Eh…" said Kevin. "Nothin' much, just scrapped the Imitator, that's all."

Gwen and Starfire smiled. Albedo scowled and mumbled something. It wasn't in English, and Ben suspected it wasn't that polite…

"So…we are all victorious!"

"Thanks in part to you, Star," Ben told her. "My form of you really came in handy! Thanks for adding him in!"

She flew up to him and gave him a very firm hug.

"Oh, you are very welcome!"

"Star…" Ben's voice was strained. "…can't…breathe…"

She let him go. He took a deep breath as Albedo quietly chuckled. Gwen glared at the latter.

"You stay out of this—" she started to say.

Suddenly, a sound came from something in Albedo's coat pocket. It was followed by a voice:

"Forever Knights! The Imitator has been destroyed, and its builder is being captured. The Titans now are escaping. If you wish to keep them and your treaty with me, converge on this location immediately! At least secure the primary target!"

The voice died out.

"Sounds like our exit cue," stated Robin with a sly smile. "Let's get—"

Then he saw Raven's expression, a mix of anger, realization, and even a little fear. The others picked on this as well.

"Raven? What's rong?" Beast Boy asked.

"I was afraid of that…" she muttered. "Sounds like HE was involved!"

The others looked at her, not sure what she was saying. She walked to Albedo and looked him right in the eyes, causing him to shudder.

"Tell me, Albedo…" she demanded. "Have you met a certain black cat who acts like a human and wears a black cloak?"

At that description, the Titans understood; Ben, Gwen, and Kevin only looked more lost. Albedo just looked around nervously for a moment before he answered.

"Alright, yes! He is the one who suggested you as samples for the Imitator! He was in it since the beginning, and—"

He was interrupted by a sudden influx of Knights. Albedo gave a nasty smile.

"And it appears you waited too long…"

"Shaddup," Kevin growled at him.

* * *

Up in the shadows, his sense of glee returned.

_She may have realized my involvement, but she will still be mine…_

* * *

There were about thirty Knights in the room in front of the Titans and Plumbers. Every single one was armed with alien laser weapons, similar to the ones they were using at the Tower.

"You're surrounded," announced one of them in the front, most likely the group's leader. "Hand over your prisoner and surrender immediately."

Robin raised a Birdarang.

"Fat chance," he snarled at them.

They all readied their weapons and aimed them at the heroes.

"Hold your fire!" said the leader. "They still have their prisoner."

"Are you all so stupid?" Albedo mocked his captors. "I would listen if I were you."

"Actually…" said Raven with the tiniest mischievous smile, "I've got a better idea…"

The others looked at her, confused. But then the Titans seemed to understand.

"Go on, Raven," Robin told her.

She nodded once and slowly walked forward. Several Knights approached her slowly, weapons still raised.

Beast Boy turned to Ben, Gwen, and Kevin.

"Y'might wanna look away, dudes. It's gonna be a little freaky."

They looked at him, just as confused as before.

"The primary target!" the leader shouted. "Secure her immediately!"

Raven stopped and looked at the approaching Knights.

"Don't come any closer," she warned them in a threatening tone.

The Knights all stopped. Then one of them started to laugh.

"Or what?" he mocked.

"You don't want to know…"

"Well, you'll just have to show us then, because…"

With that, the idiot Knight picked up his right foot in an exaggerated motion and took a step with a very loud _clank_.

Without warning, Raven rose up several feet, her cape growing to conceal her from behind. Black tentacles crept out from under it. Thirty weapons fell to the floor.

Although it shocked him at first, her transformation reminded Ben of a certain fight he had had with an evil clown, five years prior.

_Freaky, Beast Boy said,_ he thought. _More like _Ghost_freaky!_

"Um, Forever Knights…" said the leader. "New plan…RUN AWAY!"

The Knights didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

_That new plan…_he thought as his tail puffed up_. I highly agree with it._

And with that, Jinx the Wizardcat fled the chamber as fast as his super speed could take him.

* * *

A/N: Well, only one more chapter to go. And, yes, I've decided on a name for Ben's Tamaranean form (to be revealed next chapter. Please let me know what you think in a review, even if you think I messed up. Kudos to guest reviewer "noone" whose criticism actually gave me the idea to confuse Imitator!

Now, about my next fanfic: it'll be an Adventure and Hurt/Comfort fic with some humor and some dark elements. Because of the dark elements, it'll be rated T. Ironically, the source is meant for a younger audience than those of my older fics (including this one). More details to come (including on my profile page). Thanks for reading!

Vivas diu fortunesque. \\/


	8. Epilogue

A/N: Wow...can't believe I've gotten this story done! Even after four dry years! Amazing how time flies, isn't it...?

Enjoy!

* * *

Epilogue: Parted Ways

"All right, boss time!" Cyborg shouted as the little blue hero onscreen passed through a gate. "I'm gonna getcha, Dr. Wilde!"

He was back playing his game after Ben, Gwen, and Kevin had left. Beast Boy and Starfire were watching intently, and Raven was reading as if she were alone.

Robin, however, was pacing behind the couch, looking rather upset. Starfire seemed to sense this and turned to look at him.

"Robin, are you still bothered by my demonstration to Ben?" she asked.

Outside of the castle, once Raven had come out, Ben had turned back into his Tamaranean form, which he now called Sunblazer. He asked Starfire if there were any other powers she had besides flying and starbolts. She proceeded to show him her power involving learning languages, which left him both impressed and embarrassed.

"You didn't have to show him like _that_! You could've just told him how—"

"But he may not have believed. I thought my demonstration would be very informational."

"It still was a little much, Star. I mean, even Ben was—"

He stopped, seeing the blush in her cheeks.

"I did not mean to hurt you, Robin…" she said guilty.

They both fell silent for a second. Robin took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"It's okay, Star," he said slowly. "Just…in the future, could you warn us before you do something like…that?"

Starfire smiled.

"I will do that. I will alert you whenever—"

"OH, COME ON!"

Cyborg's shout made everyone but Raven jump.

"I almost had 'im! He had one bar of health left! _One freakin' bar!_"

Raven lowered her book enough to show her glaring eyes. Understandably, the other Titans inched away from her.

"Well, dudes, now it's official!" Beast Boy announced with a smile. "It's a regular, old day. At least for us."

Raven rolled her eyes and returned to her book. But as she did, he noticed a small smile that had crept onto her face.

* * *

Jinx the Wizardcat growled at himself.

_Why did I listen to _him _again? Because of him, I have wasted my third chance! At least I did not gain another set of enemies… _

He had just left a meeting with Forever King Patrick. They had peacefully dissolved their alliance, agreeing not to attack each other. Patrick had actually seemed scared when Jinx had come.

**And then, what was it? Extenuating circumstances? Gah, how d'ya talk like that?**

Jinx growled again at the voice which sounded like his.

_You,_ he thought at it. _Stay in your place!_

**Hard t'do when that's what **_**you're**_** doing…**it answered wryly.

_Silence! I waited too long for that opportunity, and I will never give it up! Never!_

The voice sighed. Jinx could feel the bit of fear it had, albeit mixed with wry humor.

**Getting a little ahead of ourselves, don'cha think?**

It said no more.

* * *

Albedo was in a foul mood. He was angry with everyone at this moment, especially the large grey-haired man in the room with him. And, of course, his two grandchildren and their friend, who had sent him here a little bit ago.

He looked down at the bowl of food in front of him, if it could even be called food.

_How I wish I were a Galvin right now…_he thought as his chili fry cravings kicked in.

He uttered a low, angry growl.

"Eat up, if you're that hungry," Max Tennyson told him, turning around with a smile. "Dung beetle stew's hard to come by here in the Null Void."

Albedo scowled at him.

_I'll get you for this, Ben Tennyson._

* * *

A/N: Looks like Albedo got his just deserts! Or should I say "a just dinner"?

And in case you were wondering: yes, Ben, Gwen, and Kevin are now Honorary Titans in addition to Honorary Plumbers. And Ben's Tamaranean form is named Sunblazer, so if they ever team up again and need some extra starbolt firepower...you get the picture.

Thanks to everyone who's read this and reviewed this; namely, severineyung and noone. Special thanks to Spyrx25 for giving me the final nudge to get this done, albeit four years late. I hope you enjoyed it.

As for my new fanfic: I don't know when I'll publish it, but I feel ready to announce its title and source. It MLP:FIM called _Poniception: As It Seems_. I've put the summary on my profile for anyone interested. I hope you check it out when it comes out. Thanks for your support!

Vivas diu fortunesque. \V/


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